RSF - Reporters sans frontières
RSF - Reporters sans frontières
10/17/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/18/2024 07:50
Guatemala : RSF et ses alliés demandent que Jose Rubén Zamora bénéficie d'une procédure régulière et soit libéré lors de la prochaine audience
Ce 18 octobre, la justice du Guatemala examine l'affaire du directeur d'elPeriódico, Jose Rubén Zamora, détenu arbitrairement depuis plus de 800 jours. Avec 18 organisations alliées, Reporters sans frontières (RSF) est profondément préoccupée par les violations des droits de Jose Rubén Zamora et par l'érosion continue de l'indépendance de la justice au Guatemala. RSF et ses partenaires exigent que toutes les garanties d'une procédure régulière soient respectées lors de cette audience cruciale.
Cette audience, qui concerne deux chefs d'accusation secondaires contre Jose Rubén Zamora, pourrait déboucher sur un non-lieu ou sur sa mise en liberté provisoire. En août, lors d'une autre audienceconcernant des accusations de blanchiment d'argent, un tribunal avait déjà statué à deux reprises que la détention provisoire n'était pas justifiée. Le même résultat est espéré dans le cas présent.
"Il s'agit d'un moment crucial dans la procédure judiciaire engagée contre le fondateur d'elPeriódico- une affaire qui dure depuis plus de deux ans et pour laquelle il n'aurait jamais dû passer un seul jour en prison. Il est essentiel que le tribunal respecte les normes internationales en matière de procédure régulière et garantisse le droit de Jose Rubén Zamora à un procès équitable. La détention provisoire ne doit pas être utilisée comme une forme de punition préventive pour un crime qu'il n'a pas commis. Nous attendons que ces accusations forgées de toutes pièces soient rejetées ou, à tout le moins, qu'il soit assigné à résidence pendant qu'il continue à se battre contre les accusations portées contre lui.
Artur Romeu
Directeur du bureau Amérique latine de RSF
Lire l'intégralité de la déclaration publiée par RSF et ses partenaires :
Guatemala: Internacional organizations demand due process guarantees at key hearing for Jose Rubén Zamora's release
19 international civil society organisations demand due process at the review of journalist Jose Rubén Zamora's detention due on Friday 18 October 2024. A Guatemala City court will consider the request for revision of pre-trial detention order issued against journalist Zamora. He has been unjustly imprisoned since 29 July 2022. We, the undersigned organisations, express our deep concern regarding the violations of his human rights and the new threats to judicial independence.
Since being appointed to preside over the hearing on Friday the 18, the substitute judge has faced stigmatisation on social media and a criminal complaint, intended to exert undue pressure. This kind of intimidation is not an isolated incident. It is part of a broader, deeply troubling trend of criminalisation targeting those implicated in politically motivated prosecutions. This tactic is frequently deployed against human rights defenders, journalists, judicial officers and others. They, like Jose Rubén Zamora, have courageously taken a stand in the fight against impunity and corruption.
At least 10 lawyers who have taken up Zamora's defence have been forced to abandon the case due to external pressures. Some have even faced unjust criminal proceedings leading to their imprisonment, as reprisal for their efforts on behalf of the journalist. These alarming incidents, combined with a series of irregularities, unjustified delays, and the absence of credible evidence, have severely tainted the criminal proceedings against Zamora and violated his rights to a defense, to the presumption of innocence and to a fair and impartial trial.
Jose Rubén Zamora has been unjustly deprived of his liberty for over 800 days in the Mariscal Zavala prison in Guatemala City. International experts have raised alarming concerns that the conditions of Zamora's imprisonment could constitute torture, and cruel and inhumane treatment. Such conditions are a grave violation of human dignity and justice. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has classified his prolonged detention as arbitrary and has unequivocally called for his immediate release. The criminal prosecution against Jose Ruben also violates freedom of expression and seeks to silence critical voices in the country.
Jose Rubén Zamora is currently facing two separate criminal proceedings, both resulting in pre-trial detention orders. His path to freedom is blocked unless both courts handling these cases concurrently decide to replace his pre-trial detention with house arrest.
In August 2024, the court overseeing the alleged money laundering offence case ruled to modify Jose Rubén Zamora's pre-trial detention order. However, a second pre-trial detention order remains in force in a separate case, and on 18 October, another court will examine this order. This is the only legal rationale currently keeping the journalist behind bars.
We, the undersigned organisations, call for this pivotal hearing to be conducted with full guarantees of independence and impartiality, ensuring strict compliance with the fundamental requirements of due process.
Signing organisations
Amnesty International
ARTICLE 19 México y Centroamérica
Be Just
CIVICUS
Centre for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF)
Freedom House
Free Press Unlimited
Fundamedios
Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA(GHRC)
Impunity Watch
Latin America Working Group (LAWG)
Lawyers without Borders Canada
Plataforma Internacional contra la Impunidad
Protection International Mesoamérica
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)
Publié le17.10.2024